Texts: A. Parham, et al. The
psychology of Blacks: An African centered perspective.
B. Akbar, Know Thyself
C. Hilliard, SBA: The reawakening of the African mind
OFFICE & HOURS: 203 Scott Hall ; Tue – Thur 7:30 a.m. – 8:15 a.m.; 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. and by appointment. Phone: Ext. 7-3056. E-mail: Hfairchild@pitzer.edu or E2e4mate@aol.com (home e-mail). Website: http://bernard.pitzer.edu/~hfairchi (go to courses link).
Schedule
| Date | Topic | Readings |
| 1-18 | Introductions and Course Overview | none |
| 1-20 | What is Black Psychology? | A: Chapter 1 |
| 1-25 | Family; Identity | A: Chapters 2-3 |
| 1-27 | LIBRARY RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT | |
| 2-1 | Education; Development | A: Chapters 4-5 |
| 2-3 | Dr. Parham | |
| 2-8 | Mental Health Issues; Praxis | A: Chapters 6-7 |
| 2-10 | Dr. A.J. Franklin | |
| 2-15 | Past- Present and Future | A: Chapters 8-9; Afterword |
| 2-17 | Dr. Nancy Boyd-Franklin | Book Review Due |
| 2-22 | Transmitting Consciousness; The Self | B: Foreword; Chapters1-2 |
| 2-24 | Dr. Akbar | |
| 2-29 | Education; Self Education | B: Chapters 3-5 |
| 3-2 | Dr. Akbar | Book Review Due |
| 3-7 | Scientific Racism | Handout(s) |
| 3-9 | Dr. Fairchild | |
| 3-14 | SPRING BREAK ? | |
| 3-16 | SPRING BREAK ? | |
| 3-21 | Deep Thought | C: Chapter 1 |
| 3-23 | Dr. Hilliard | |
| 3-28 | European Hegemony | C: Chapter 2 |
| 3-30 | Dr. Hilliard | |
| 4-4 | Education & Legitimacy | C: Chapter 3 |
| 4-6 | Dr. Marimba Ani | |
| 4-11 | Education’s Current Challenges | C: Chapter 4 |
| 4-13 | Randall Robinson | |
| 4-18 | African Indigenous Pedagogy | C: Chapter 5 |
| 4-20 | Maulana Karenga | |
| 4-25 | Purposeful Transformation | C: Chapter 6 |
| 4-27 | Louis Farrakhan | |
| 5-2 | Future Study | C: Chapter 7 |
| 5-4 | Course review & evaluation |
Weekly Writing - Assignments Writing Intensive. This course is writing intensive and requires weekly reaction papers. For each of the assigned readings, provide a brief "thumbnail sketch" of the reading (in one page or less), and a brief "reaction statement" that provides your personal reaction to an aspect of the material in the article (in one or two paragraphs). For example, the readings for January 25th include two chapters. For each of these chapters, write a brief "thumbnail sketch" and "reaction statement." Weekly papers should also sketch and react to the preceding week’s Thursday lecture. Students will share their reaction statements in class as a stimulus to class discussion. These writing assignments will be graded on a 100-point scale (subjectively determined by the instructor on the basis of thoroughness, originality, effort, appearance and writing quality). Papers are due at the beginning of class (they are collected each Thursday). Late papers receive 1/2 credit. All papers may be re-written and re-submitted for re-grading within one week of their return to the student (late papers will still receive 1/2 credit).
Book Reviews - For each of the texts, students must write a book review that critically assesses the contribution of the book to Black Psychology. Students are encouraged to use the book reviews in the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, The Journal of Black Psychology, or Contemporary Psychology as models for this assignment. Due Dates: February 17, 2000 (Parham), March 2 (Akbar) and May 2 (Hilliard). (Late papers receive 75% credit.)
Grading - Grades are determined on a point basis. Weekly papers
(thumbnail sketch & reaction statements) are worth up to 100 points
for a total of 1500 points. (Each week’s paper will be graded on a 70-100
point scale.) The book reviews are worth 500 points. Contribution
to the class discussion is worth up to 1000 points (Each absence, regardless
of excuse, subtracts 50 points from the total). (Class discussion will
be subjectively graded on a 70 to 100 point scale, and that total will
be multiplied by 10. Subtractions for absences are then taken from the
grand total.) The grand total, therefore, is 4000 possible points. Final
grades will be determined according to the following formula: A (92%+);
A/B (88%-91.9%); B (82%-79.9%); B/C (78%-81.9%); C (72%+); C/D (68%+, etc.
Additional reading assignments will be made on a regular basis. The requirements
and grading formula are subject to change.